Reboot Alberta

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Time for Alberta Strategic Voters to Stop Harper

Have we Albertans gotten our money’s worth from 28 Conservative MPs? If you read the pre-election spending in the 3 months before the election Harper spent $941 per person in Quebec and a mere $15 per person in Alberta. How is that fair to Alberta, where Harper allegedly calls his “home?”

Quebec flirted with voting Conservatives for the first few weeks in this election. Then they saw through Harper and have not just rejected him, they are now shunning him. Ironically it is Quebec that is actually saving Canada as a country by ensuring Harper only gets a minority government at best.

Wake up Alberta. We are being taken for granted and have been ignored ever since Harper came to power. Now he wants to interfere in Alberta’s natural resources by controlling bitumen exports and mess with nuclear power in our province. So much for the old Reform Party Harper who wanted to protect Alberta from interference from Ottawa with "Firewall."

Wake up Alberta. Send Harper a message on October 14th. Vote strategically to elect Wachowich in Edmonton Centre, Duncan in Edmonton Strathcona and Ford in Edmonton Sherwood Park. These are strong candidates with vital voices with proven ability. They will not be a mute minion in a Harper caucus under his command and control one-man kind of leadership.

Stelmach to Harper - Stay Out of Alberta's Business!

I was going to write a blog post on Premier Stelmach’s entry into the federal election and his taking on Prime Minister Harper’s intervention into Alberta’s business. This is very unusual, especially for two fiscal conservatives to be engaging this way but I applaud Premier Stelmach for in engagement. I then read Paula Simons Edmonton Journal column today and she says it so much better than I can as a Progressive Conservative partisan.


I was thinking of the irony of Harper’s isolationist attitude about Alberta’s future as he signed the famous Firewall letter and now he imposes himself into Alberta’s business. I think it may be better for us if he continued to ignore Alberta instead of interfering in our business.
I see Stelmach’s style is so different from Harper. Harper build firewalls and imposes barriers.


Stelmach, on the other hand is in Toronto and Montreal to explain how Alberta is a partner in the national economy and ecology. Harper is oblivious to the devastation the global market meltdown will have on Canadians. Stelmach is calling on his fellow Premiers to have an emergency meeting to deal with the impacts on citizens across the country. You would think the man who wants to stay Prime Minister would be taking this lead.


Stelmach has enough on his plate fighting ENGOS on oil sands issues and now he has to fend off the Prime Minister - a fellow Conservative but no friend of Alberta of her jurisdiction. With friends like these…!

Harper Admits to Being "Upfront" on War Costs.

It has to be a sad day when it is MSM news that our government is noted as being "upfront" about what something is consting us taxpayers.

When that something is the Afghan war where were are getting honesty from our governmetbn it is even more depressing.

Have you have enough of this government yet?

230 Canadian Economists Say Harper is Wrong on Climate Change

When you are a one-man show, believe you are the smartest guy in the room and think politics and power trump good governance you don’t see or choose to ignore wise and sage advice from experts who can help you.

Harper is so isolated in his own intellectualism that he has become blind to sound advice from other smart people, especially those he considers to be outsiders or his intellectual inferiors.

He has chosen to ignore the Open Letter published October 6th from more than 230 of his fellow-economists on a “… economically coherent action on climate change.”

The economists note the fact that there is remarkable agreement amongst them on “…this key point – the best climate change policy is to put a price on carbon.” Harper is still a climate change denier in his heart.

No way can he accept this reality because he would have to admit Dion is right.

Given Harper's approach to rigid command and control governing - what are the chances of that ever happening?

Liberal Ads Top YouTube

CBC’s Ormiston Online notes the Liberal Attack Ads on Harper have taken over YouTube as the Top 5 Videos. This is modern campaigning at its best and an effective counter attack on Harper's political tactics on Dion for more than two years.

Harper spent millions of tax subsidized dollars for expensive television ads attack ads on Dion in an old-school approach to Bush-league politics. He bullied and manipulated the public perception of Dion but in ways that were not authentic. Harper misaligned the messages with the reality that Canadians have come to know about Dion the person. It is backfiring on Harper now in spades.

You can buy a short term change of perception with multi-millions of dollars on attack ads but you can’t change long term values and beliefs with such political tactics.

Harper is only holding on to his core Conservative voting base now because he has offended our core values and dismissed the concerns of Canadians have. Harper has been especially indifferent about the personal impacts of the global financial crisis.

Now he is using more money on even more expensive televised attack ads. This time it is an attempt to frighten Canadians, highlighting women, by telling his typical misleading half truths about Dion.

The country knows now that Dion is going to reduce taxes for Canadians on their hard earned incomes, investments and enterprises. By making polluters pay we are all encouraged to become part of the solution. We can avoid the personal and corporate costs of pollution by changing our behaviours and helping to solve the climate change crisis as well as the economic crisis. Harper ignores all these truths in this desperate last ditch advertising effort to save his campaign from disaster.

Harper is the one who is fear mongering and inducing panic with this kind of inaccurate and cynical attack ad. Harper IS the Risk to our democracy and is offensive to our values as Canadians, particularly when he persists in this kind of Bush/Cheney Republican politics.

Stop Harper! Vote Liberal!